Defense Minister Barak Meets with U.S. Senators, Discusses Syria and Iran

Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with a delegation of U.S. senators in Tel Aviv on Monday, and reiterated his government's conviction that the recent nuclear talks in Baghdad were yet another example of Iran "dragging its feet while attempting to deceive the world."

Barak was referring to the fruitless negotiations that took place last week, where the West saw its glimmer of hope dashed by Iran's rejection of the P5+ 1's proposal (the U.S., the U.K., France, Russia, China, Germany) to rein in Iran's nuclear program. He also took the opportunity to emphasize that "All options remain firmly on the table."

Barak also discussed the massacre perpetrated by the Assad regime in Houla on Friday. "Israel supports the UN Security Council's condemnation of the atrocities in Syria.  The pictures of the children's mutilated bodies are both shocking and disturbing.  We call upon the nations of the world to unite and act immediately to stop the ongoing massacre of innocents."